


December 25th - Christmas Day

by shenala



Series: Stuckymas [25]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Jewish Bucky Barnes, M/M, Stucky Christmas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:39:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21953074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shenala/pseuds/shenala
Summary: On Christmas morning at the Barnes-Rogers' household, for once it wasn't a case of one waking up without the other, or being rudely awoken by them. Instead, as the first rays of sunlight began peaking through the edges of their curtains, Bucky and Steve woke up together, legs tangled, chests pressed together, and heads touching.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Series: Stuckymas [25]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1558945
Comments: 6
Kudos: 37





	December 25th - Christmas Day

On Christmas morning at the Barnes-Rogers' household, for once it wasn't a case of one waking up without the other, or being rudely awoken by them. Instead, as the first rays of sunlight began peaking through the edges of their curtains, Bucky and Steve woke up together, legs tangled, chests pressed together, and heads touching. 

Overnight the colder air outside had left a lingering chill indoors, not enough to be uncomfortable, just noticeable. And when Bucky first rouses from his slumber, that slightly cooler air on the tip of his nose makes him scrunch it up and burrow ever close to Steve, rubbing the tip of his nose against the blonde's sleep-flushed cheek. 

Steve had already been drifting into awakedness but that touch was what tipped him fully into the new day. He turned his head just enough to lock eyes with Bucky, a soft smile on his lips echoed by Steve's own, "Mornin' Buck, happy Christmas."

"G'morning Stevie, happy Christmas and Hanukkah sameach" Bucky replied, trailing off with a yawn as he stretched his spine with an audible pop. 

Hearing that his humans were now awake, Jussie took it as his cue to belly crawl up from the bottom of the bed until he was sprawled out on top of them, panting happily, followed shortly by Alpine who curled around Bucky's head on the pillow and Buffy who planted herself on Steve's shoulder, one paw in his ear. 

Regardless of it being Christmas, this was Bucky's favourite kind of morning; one when they could be slow and just ease into the day, knowing that they had nowhere to be and nothing they had to do. It was a luxury they hadn't really had before, either through going to work before the war or the war itself, and what came after. Now though, these days peppered their way through the calendar, sometimes even appearing one after the other. But even though they were no longer rare, Bucky guarded them just as fiercely, if not more so, because mornings like these were  _ theirs _ . 

When they did eventually stumble out from underneath their blankets, they moved slowly, and stayed close. Jussie was content to stick to Steve's heel even as they headed downstairs, and the cats tumbled behind Bucky, making sure to keep their human in their sights at all times. 

Breakfast on this Christmas morning was a simple one, one they had almost every day in fact, just pancakes and waffles, topped with fruit and syrup, and mugs of sweet, steaming coffee. And after they'd tidied the table, they had a second breakfast, something that always made the Tolkien-loving Bucky smile, of hot buttered toast which they ate on the sofa, a randomly selected Christmas movie providing a little background noise. 

Appetites sated, Steve suggested they open their gifts, and while the blonde was trying to act cool, Bucky could see the simmering excitement under his husband's skin and needed no further convincing. So with the lights on the tree boosting the still-dim morning light, they sat on the floor and divided out their presents, those for Steve, those for Bucky, and those for the menagerie.

They'd been doing this too long to stand on any form of ceremony; there was no order or set of rules. Once presents were handed over, you opened them. That was it. So, keeping half an eye on the other for when their gift was being unwrapped, they got started. And even as Bucky slit the tape holding a gift bag from Natasha closed, he couldn't help but smile at the way their roles had reversed. Because before the war, Bucky was the impatient one when it came to gifts. He'd tear into the brown paper without hesitation, crowing gleefully at whatever Steve had handed him that year. Steve, on the other hand, had been slow and careful, rolling up the string and carefully folding the paper before tucking both into his pocket for reuse. They worked in the opposite way now, with Steve moving quickly, though no less diligently, while Bucky carefully peeled back the tape and set the paper and bags aside for recycling, keeping the ribbons and bows for next year.

For Steve, his pile of gifts turned out to be: a soft fisherman knit sweater and fluffy purple polka dot socks from Natasha, a set of records that he'd been looking for from Clint, multiple recipe books and a voucher for cooking lessons from Sam ("Rogers, you're a grown man, your husband shouldn't have to do all the cooking"), a pair of new running shoes from Wanda and Pietro who had both been nagging him about the holes (eek) in his for at least 2 months, a tobacco scented candle from Bruce that with one sniff took him straight back to 1933, a mug from Peter that said " _ Rogers loves Barnes"  _ on one side and had a picture of Bucky smushing his face against Steve's at Pride on the other, and finally, from Tony, a new leather jacket, after Steve's had been somewhat shredded by the zombie demon Santas a week or so earlier.

Of course, Steve had other gifts too, like the gallon jug of mead Thor had handed him the night before, and the presents from Bucky that he'd put to one side before he started. He opened those next, finding a leather necklace to replace the chain his (and Bucky's) dog-tags hung from, a book he'd been trekking all over Brooklyn to find, a scarf knitted by the man himself, and a photo album of the past year, a photo from their wedding taking pride of place on the cover.

On Bucky's side of things, he was working through his pile slower but with equal joy as he unearthed: a sweater and socks identical to Steve's except in colour from Natasha, a set of new knives from Clint as the archer had lost one of Bucky's favourites and promised to make up for it, a spa voucher from Sam with a note demanding he be invited to it, a set of flavoured coffees from Bruce, a mug matching Steve's from Peter as well as a pair of Harry Potter jammies, a leather cuff with the Sokovian word for  _ brother _ embossed into the top from Wanda and the latest book from one of his favourite sci-fi authors from Pietro, and from Tony, a set of car keys with a gift tag that said " _ it'll be flying in time for 103" _ which Bucky giddily assumed meant he'd be getting a flying car for his birthday.

When it came to his gifts from Steve, he knew that his husband had probably struggled to know what to buy him, mainly because Steve was buying him things constantly throughout the year anyway (as Bucky did vice versa). But the blonde had still done a brilliant job with a Captain America bathrobe that had Bucky crowing in delight and immediately pulling it on, as well as a couple of books on gardening so he could prepare for the Spring, and a ring for his right hand (obviously his wedding ring was on his left) that according to the note somehow had their heartbeats as they said "I do" at their wedding engraved into the surface (Bucky was guessing Tony had helped a little bit with that one). 

Once they shared their gifts and thanked each other with a multitude of kisses, they quickly tidied up before changing into warm clothes, both of them pulling on their new sweaters from Natasha without even discussing it. Leaving the cats happily curled up on the sofa, they stepped out for a pre-lunch walk with Jussie trotting happily at their side, sniffing in the smells of a Brooklyn kicking into gear on Christmas day.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

By the time they got back home, Bucky's stomach was growling and he knew Steve's was no better, so after relegating his husband to the job of mashing potatoes (that Bucky had already boiled and chopped, to avoid disaster), Bucky got started on their Christmas meal. 

Now Bucky had nothing against turkey. He liked it as much as the next guy who had grown up on boiled chicken. But for him, it was a meat he liked at Thanksgiving and that was it. As for Steve, well Steve didn't really care as long as Bucky was cooking it, so this year he was breaking with tradition. They weren't having turkey. Hell, they weren't even having a roasted bird of any kind.

No, this year, Bucky was making a pie. A gravy-laden, meaty pie filled with venison and pheasant, and a partridge that according to the guy at the farmer's market had come from Scotland! A pie with a thick, flaky, golden pastry top. 

And despite the fact that neither of them had ever eaten anything like this at Christmas before (or any other time of year, let's be honest), somehow it felt nostalgic, and as it turned out, it was damn delicious too.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

After they'd eaten their fill (which was quite an achievement for two super-soldiers) the rest of the day passed in a bit of a hazy blur. They settled themselves on the sofa, a movie playing on tv, one of them with a laptop on their knee, the other with a book, before they swapped at some point. A hot drink never far from their hand, and a plate of snacks from the fridge ever present on the coffee table. The only thing that really changed as the day progressed was the position of the cats, as they moved about the room, always keeping them in sight, while Jussie had settled at Steve's knee and not budged except for treats.

The fourth night of Hanukkah was observed by just the two of them standing in front of the menorah in the window, Steve standing by quietly as Bucky did his part. And when the candles were lit and Bucky stepped into Steve's side and took his hand, the blonde handed over that night's gift, a small keyring with Steve's shield, that had a Star of David at the centre. 

"Happy Hanukkah sweetheart."

"Happy Christmas doll."

**Author's Note:**

> If you celebrate, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas, or a happy Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa!  
> If you don't, I hope you have a good day whatever you're doing.
> 
> shenala.tumblr.com
> 
> The "Rogers loves Barnes" mugs are inspired by https://archiveofourown.org/works/17584733


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